With the first two NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events of the year being held on back-to-back weekends, preparation is proving to be key for Rodger Brogdon's ProtectTheHarvest.com Pro Stock team.

Brogdon and his crew prepped five engines to use on their Chevrolet Camaro during the first two races, a solid task for their new in-house engine program, which they moved from Oklahoma to Houston during the off-season. The goal was to have a new motor in the car for the opening qualifying runs during this weekend's NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Int'l Raceway.

"We've got as many as five engines that are all equal on the dyno but until you run them down the track you don't know for sure," Brogdon said. "We actually might start with a different engine to get a couple of runs on it. We know what the one we used in Pomona will do, so we might put in a different one for the first two runs on Friday."

Besides an engine swap, not much was done between the races in Pomona and Phoenix.

"You really don't have time to do much," Brogdon said. "We might set up the car different. The guys will look at what we ran in Phoenix last year as far as transmission combinations and stuff like that but you can't do a whole lot."

The ProtectTheHarvest.com hauler did not return to its home base in Houston in between races and instead remained on the West Coast.

"The rig left Pomona Sunday night and got to Phoenix Monday," Brogdon said. "We all flew home after Pomona for two or three days because we've got stuff to do, and we'll fly back to Phoenix Thursday."

Brogdon's new engine program paid quick dividends in Pomona, where he qualified seventh, his best effort since qualifying No. 5 in Chicago last year. He's hoping for continued improvement in Phoenix and beyond.

"We have a few tracks on the tour that are questionable at times and Phoenix can be one of them," Brogdon said. "We'll have to see how we do but we know it can be tricky. We'll see what happens."

Qualifying for the NHRA Arizona Nationals gets under way at 2 p.m. PST Friday from Firebird Int'l Raceway with two sessions on tap. Qualifying continues on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. with Sunday's eliminations under way at 11 a.m. ESPN2 will air the qualifying show at 1 a.m. EST on Sunday and the eliminations show at 8 p.m. Sunday.

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